Holy Crap Jazz Girl, are you trying to give me a heart attack?? jkBut seriously, I totally agree with you suzy, I'm not sure anyone would have been strong enough to resist drinking Bella's blood without practice. Even Laurent, who knows Bella and has had time to become acquainted with her scent, still tries to feed on her when he has her alone, and her blood doesn't sing to him, so...Although, who knows, Edward is so amazingly capable in so many other ways, who's to say that he would not be able to resist? Aside from the planning every possible way to kill her for the first hour he met her, and barely being able to resist then, after 60 some years of vegetarianism, if true love is really what they shared, then he should still have been able to hold back. I think, however, that it would have been a lot easier for Edward to convince Bella of his being wrong for her, if his eyes were still blood red, and not topaz, or whatever color they are, and if he were more savage like the rest of the vampires, regardless of his attempts at (lol) "Vampire rehabilitation", it would take a lot more work, but Edward might have avoided snacking on Bella, and Bella might have overlooked the "I just killed someone yesterday and fed off their life-force" thing...Maybe.It could happen = )

***EDIT***

I just thought of a few things, irrelevant though they may be.*Thing 1). Since Vampires can breathe, but do not have to, do you suppose there are vampires who smoke? I imagine there would be some, since surely some of them were smokers in their human lives, and it's not like it can be bad for their health any longer...?*Thing 2). And this is likely absurd, and probably also largely indicative of my train of thought right now, but do you suppose that if a vampire drank the blood of someone who had been drinking, they might also feel the effects. I can only assume the answer would be no, since vampires are basically immune to all things human (?), but I thought it would be an interesting concept to explore, maybe write a short about a vampire who "drank too much"... just a thought...Thing 3). Did my preempting each of my subject numbers * with the word "thing" make anyone in here think of 'the cat in the hat', as i was subconsciously intending?

SenorGimp, sorry for the heart trouble. It's just one of those questions that sort of snuck in there while I was sitting in the dark. I should clarify, though, that in this speculation, Edward is not fully carnivorous. He is the Edward of his teenaged rebellion years, hunting the evil and meting out his form of justice. (Huh, there's an image. Who knew Daredevil was a really a vampire? Sorry, I digress ) So, he is at least somewhat conscience-bound and could be more worthy of Bella in his mind. So far, the concensus seems to be that, if he wasn't fully veggie, he'd have just eaten her from the word go, or else left permanently to avoid the temptation. I don't think it would ever happen, Edward not being veggie. I think it was more idea of the attraction we seem to look for between innocent young women and vampires trying not to be vampires (ie Buffy and Angel) Or, the attraction to the idea of the difference between a man who changes who he is to deserve the woman he loves vs the man who is already trying to be a better person.

Yes, I immediatly though you were channeling Dr Seuss. Random crazy thought for the day: "What would Edward's thoughts sound like if written in Seussian verse? "

Okay, so I've been speculating about the end of Breaking Dawn for a while now. I'm specifically focused on the Volturi, who had lost their reason for attacking the Cullens and were forced to retreat. They are a very persistant clan; I don't think they would just stop after that. And neither does Edward!

So, who do you think the Volturi would pick off first, and if you've thought about it, how do you think they'd do it?

My gut is telling me that they'll go for Renesmee first. She's the youngest, the most inexperienced, and possibly the most loved. Not that the family doesn't love each other entirely, but she's the baby of the family -- Everyone's just naturally going to pamper her. -- and that means her disappearance would be the most shattering.

I don't think it would happen right away. Those old coots (Aro, Caius, and Marcus) would probably sit on their bums for a few years just trying to figure out how they could pull it off. Attacking would have been difficult in the past because of the family's wit, Edward's telepathy, and Alice's premonitions, but now they've got Super Bella to worry about. Her shield means that any psychological attack somebody tries to use will fail on both her and the people she's protecting it with.

That further weakens my theory. Sigh. I don't think Aro, Caius, and Marcus would do the 'picking off' personally. They want to remain diplomatic in the eyes of the vampire community, and to do so might show just how corrupt their system is. I have this feeling that Aro is going to come across a very interesting vampire to add to his collection. I'm not sure what the vampire could do, but I feel like he'd have an interesting power that might catch the Cullens off-guard. I think they'd also send Renata to confuse the trail. Of course, before this happened, they'd need to catch Bella, and that would be an insane task.

The more I thought about it, though, the more I started questioning my choice. Maybe they'd take Jasper first. But Alice is REALLY tied to him, so she'd be able to see that decision right away. Maybe they'd go for Rosalie. ARGH! I actually have no clue.

But I also came up with the alternate theory that maybe the Volturi would just wait for the Cullens to slip up. They've obviouly got enough time on their hands. They could even plant evidence and falsify the crime. So long as they did it well enough, nobody would have to know. That way, they could both remain diplomatic and go after the Cullens. They'd have a 'reason' if they did it well enough.

I do think they would have to wait for the Cullens to "slip" if they want to continue their front of delivering justice. One option is definitely Charlie. If they find out that Charlie has any knowledge of what is going on, they can make the same demand they made of Bella... become one or die. While Charlie doesn't really know the whole story, he knows enough that the Volturi could make a move on the family again over him.

Then, they could attempt "sneak attacks" again and try to get a battle started like in BD... only more thought out ones... some why to get the Cullens to engage them first. But then they would still have the same huge disadvantages that they had in BD.

I like the idea of them aquiring a new member who's ability challenges the Cullen's defense. Find one that is as potent as the witch twins but is physical and not mental so Bella wouldn't be able to stop 'em.

In the end though, any move they make against the Cullens will most likely be scrutinized closely by the other vamps...

... I would imagine they would wait a long time before making another attempt...

Wants to move to Forks and live with the Cullens forever.Banner by the fabulous MRKI ♥ my Lexily!

Nerd, great question. Let me first start out by saying I think it will take a very very long time before the Volturi try to mess with the Cullens again. The trauma of having been bested for the first time in a few millenia will take some time to dim, particularly in their memories. But, as Edward states, inevitably it will. And then, they come for revenge. I think the complicating factor here will be the fact that they still covet so many of the Cullens to have as prizes in Aro's collection. They have always wanted Edward and Alice. But, now add to the mix "Super Bella" ( love that by the way) and Renesmee, and they have good reason to be very careful. When it comes down to it, I think their attack will be less about destroying and still more about gaining prizes.RoseAurora, I think it is an interesting possiblity about using a weakness like Charlie or Renee as a bargaining chip, so to speak. It would definitely put a chink in the Cullen armor to take Bella out of the picture like that. The idea of planting "evidence" and staging a crime is certainly intriguing. But, there were too many witnesses. Aro's need for an audience truly did backfire as there were too many who witnessed exactly what the Volturi's true goals in the field that day were. And, particularly with people like Maggie and Eleazar and the other one who spoke about being "one who knows the truth when it is spoken" (Sorry, BD is at home), word of what happened in that field, the way the Volturi really operated, will spread through the covens and gatherings for a long time to come. In summary, I guess the possible timeline is so long that only a vampire could truly wrap their head around what might happen that far in the future. And, unfortunately, Jasper hasn't developed the self control to change me yet.

Okay, so I have a strange speculation that eventually falls in line a little bit with the above ponderings.... It still is a little boggled in my mind though so I am not sure how much sense it will make.

First off, it has to do with Felix. Anyone else notice that he seems a little bit taken with Bella. First he calls dibs on eating her in NM and then winks at her in Eclipse, and then mentions pretty much how great she looks in BD. Then to top it off he is supposidly really big/muscly and her shield would do nothing to stop him. Now, its a given that she would obviously never choose him over Edward but if she ever went on another solo trip to Volturra or close....I wonder what would happen. And frankly if the Voltui even just had him capture her for them to get Edward and family to do what they wanted.

There are potentially gonna be some major risks for her up ahead with physical rather then mental attacks with her being such a valuable mental shield to their family.

"Fall down again, Bella?""No, Emmett. I punched a werewolf in the face."

I was reading this thread..and a day after some stuff just popped in my head(in relation to what SG wrote), i'm here to share:D

Senior Gimp wrote:*Thing 1). Since Vampires can breathe, but do not have to, do you suppose there are vampires who smoke? I imagine there would be some, since surely some of them were smokers in their human lives, and it's not like it can be bad for their health any longer...?

Well I suppose some Vampires can still smoke like in their human lives but I think it is more out of habit than want... because their bodies probably wont crave the nicotine..

*Thing 2). And this is likely absurd, and probably also largely indicative of my train of thought right now, but do you suppose that if a vampire drank the blood of someone who had been drinking, they might also feel the effects. I can only assume the answer would be no, since vampires are basically immune to all things human (?), but I thought it would be an interesting concept to explore, maybe write a short about a vampire who "drank too much"...

Were on the same wavelength, they wont be affected by it since they're already immune to human weaknesses and such. It would be interesting though if it affected them, if they drink the blood of those with really high alcohol-blood level, maybe he/she would be a little disoriented (most probably in controlling their abilities, like they could crush a doorknob by just trying to open the door) and maybe their control (with their thrist) would be lessened...

I am posing this question to you all after spending a wonderful evening last night FINALLY getting a chance to sit and read the SM personal correspondance pages on the Lex blog. I came upon an interesting factoid and I want to see what you all, my fellow speculators have to say. While answering a question about the Cullen home, SM indicated that there is a basement in the home, highly inaccessible unless you are a vampire. According to our favorite author, that is where the Cullens keep "illicit items". What do the Cullens keep in the basement? I will withhold my speculations until I read a few of yours. Thanks.

Oooo... good question Jazz Girl! I am going to have to think about that one...

I wanted to weigh in on the smoking and "drinking" stuff real quick first...

I don't think that a vampire would have any desire to smoke after they have been changed. I don't think they would get anything out of it. I also think there my be a chance that having all that smoke in their face/ nose area would interfere with their ability to smell their surroundings and it would make them uncomfortable, like holding their breathe does. I have nothing to back that up, haha, there is chance that their sense of smell is so awesome that it wouldn't be a problem, but that was my first reaction to the question...

I don't think that drinking the blood of someone who is drunk would affect them either. When Edward sucked the venom out of Bella he could tell that her blood was clean because he could taste the morphine. It didn't seem to have an effect on him... though he may have not gotten that much in his system. My totally unsubstantiated ( ) theory is that the venom would "burn off" any alcohol that might be present in the blood. Not that the movie is the best basis for the Twilight universe, but Wylan was drunk when the nomads killed him... so it doesn't seem like it is something they worry about...

Fun questions though

Wants to move to Forks and live with the Cullens forever.Banner by the fabulous MRKI ♥ my Lexily!

Jazz Girl Wrote: How do you think Edward's relationship with Bella would be different if Edward hadn't been a vegetarian before meeting Bella. I know it's assuming a lot here, but let's assume that the family had say a mixed diet and drank the occasional human, but still made the effort to appear "normal" ie going to school, working at the hospital etc...Edward meets Bella and swears off drinking human blood anymore at that point, so that he can be the man she deserves. Does that change anything?

I have been pondering this question over the last few days. If Edward were both veggan and the occassional human blood drinker, this would not change the outcome where Edward's love for Bella is concerned. It could pose problems for his family though.

In this scenerio, Edward is mostly a veggan vampire, so he continues to stop short of killing Bella mostly because he is intrigued by the mystery of not being able hear her thoughts. This mystery in and of itself causes him to stop and want to learn the answer to the mystery. Secondly, Edward is an all or nothing character. Once he has dedicated himself to something, he sees it through. We know that Edward would not kill without justification, and their is no justification for killing Bella; hence, he would resist, just as he did, inspite of his instincts telling him otherwise.

If there were to be changes or problems in this scenerio, it would come from Edward's family. They would have to be comfortable with accepting Bella without harming her. Of course, they do, and I don't think that changes in the light of this scenerio. Perhaps they would all become dedicated veggans to remain a cohesive coven

Alice at Heart"Love realized is even better than real love." - Stephenie Meyer